Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd
Nigella Mulberry Rose (Love-in-a-mist)
Nigella Mulberry Rose (Love-in-a-mist)
Couldn't load pickup availability
Share
Nigella 'Mulberry Rose' Seeds
If you find the standard blue Nigella a little too "wild," let me introduce you to 'Mulberry Rose'. This stunning variety is a masterpiece of colour evolution. The paper-thin, ruffled blooms open a delicate, pale pastel pink, and as they mature in the sun, they deepen into a rich, vintage rose-berry tone.
Nestled in a ruff of fine, ferny foliage (the "mist"), these flowers look like antique porcelain. But the beauty doesn't stop when the petals fall. The centre of the flower swells into a magnificent, balloon-like seed pod striped in burgundy and green. These pods dry perfectly, providing architectural interest for winter vases and wreaths long after summer has faded.
Read More
🌿 Understanding the Plant
Nigella is a Hardy Annual.
It completes its life cycle in one season but is a brilliant self-seeder.
The Cycle: If you leave the seed pods on the plant, they will dry out and shake their black seeds over the soil. You will likely find a fresh drift of Nigella seedlings popping up in the same spot next spring without lifting a finger!
Top Tip: They have a taproot and dislike being transplanted. It is always best to sow them directly where you want them to flower.
🌱 Growing Guide: How to Sow and Grow
Nigella is one of the easiest "scatter and grow" seeds.
Germination:
Sow directly outdoors in Autumn (Sept) for early flowers next year, or Spring (March-May) for summer blooms. Scatter seeds onto raked soil and cover lightly (3mm deep). Germination takes 14-21 days.
Where to Sow:
They love sun but will tolerate light shade. They flourish in gravel gardens or average garden soil. They don't need feeding—rich soil just produces more "mist" (leaves) and fewer flowers.
Care While Growing:
They are very low maintenance. You don't need to stake them. If you want the seed pods for drying, leave the flowers alone. If you want more flowers, deadhead regularly.
📋 Plant Specifications
| Latin Name | Nigella damascena |
| Common Name | Love-in-a-mist 'Mulberry Rose' |
| Hardiness | H3 (Hardy Annual) |
| Light Required | Full Sun / Part Shade ⛅ |
| Height | ↕️ 40cm - 50cm |
| Spread | ↔️ 25cm |
| Spacing | 🌱 20cm apart (or scatter) |
| Great for | 🍂 Dried Seed Pods 🐝 Bee Magnet 🎨 Vintage Themes 🌾 Filling Gaps |
| Seed Count | Approx. 400 seeds per packet |
🤝 Perfect Garden Companions
The antique pink tones of 'Mulberry Rose' need soft, romantic partners:
- ☁️ Cosmos 'Purity': The fresh lift. The clean white of 'Purity' brightens up the dusty pink tones of the Nigella, creating a light, airy, romantic border scheme.
- 🌾 Briza Maxima (Quaking Grass): Texture harmony. The nodding, locket-shaped seed heads of the grass echo the balloon-shaped seed pods of the Nigella. Both dry beautifully for winter arrangements.
📅 Sowing & Flowering Calendar
Sow directly outdoors in autumn or spring. Flowers mid-summer.
| Month | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow Outdoors | 🟢 | 🟢 | 🟢 | 🟢 | 🟢 | |||||||
| Flowers | 🌸 | 🌸 | 🌸 | 🌸 | ||||||||
| Harvest Seeds | 🍂 | 🍂 |
⚠️ Edible Seeds
The seeds of Nigella are edible (known as Kalonji or Black Cumin). They have a nutty, peppery flavour and are delicious sprinkled on naan bread or in curries!
🏆 Officially Recognised Excellence
This is a top-tier plant for pollinators. Nigella damascena is listed on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list, providing a rich source of nectar for bees in mid-summer.
